The Problem of the Day

Volume X - Sufi Mysticism

THE PROBLEM OF THE DAY

World Reconstruction

Especially after a war and the pain that the world has
thereby experience, people begin to think again about the
subject of reconstruction. But no doubt every person looks
at it according to his own mentality, and in this way the
ideas about the reconstruction of the world differ very
much.

If we consider the condition of the world as it is today,
we see that its financial condition, which is most essential
for order and peace, has become so complex that many people
of intellect and understanding are helpless before this
most difficult problem. No doubt there are those who will
tell us that there is no remedy for the betterment of humanity
other than the solution of the financial problems. But at
the same time it seems that these problems are becoming
daily more and more difficult and bringing nations and races
and communities towards a greater and greater destruction.
Before a solution is reached it will be no wonder if a great
deal of damage is done to many nations. And although absorbed
by their own problems, men do not think enough about these
things, nevertheless in the end the world in general will
realize the weakness, the feebleness caused by this disorder
and by the unbalanced condition of the financial world.
Nations and people make profit out of the losses of the
other nations and people, and even if for the moment they
may think that they are benefited, in the end they will
realize that we human beings, whether as individuals or
as a multitude, all depend upon one another. For instance,
if because of one part of one's body another part suffers,
in the end there will prove to be an unbalanced state, a
lack of health in the physical body. And just as health
means that all the organs of the body are in good condition,
so the health of the world means that all nations, all people,
are in a good condition.

Leaving this financial question and coming to the problem
of education, in spite of all the progress that has been
made in this field, any thoughtful person will be struck
by the amount of work which a little child is given to do
considering its age and its strength. It seems that in the
enthusiasm for making education richer and richer, a load
has been heaped upon the minds of the children. And what
happens? It is like a dish which was meant to be cooked
for half an hour, but is being made ready in five minutes.
It will perhaps be burnt, or perhaps it is underdone. The
child knows too much for its age; it knows what it does
not require, what it does not value, what is a load to it,
what is forced upon its mind. And how few of us stop to
think of this question, that childhood is kingliness in
itself. It is a gift from above that the child is growing
and that during the time of its growth it is unaware of
the woes and worries and anxieties of life. These are the
only days for experiencing the kingliness of life, the days
when the child should play, when it should be near to nature,
when it should absorb what nature gradually teaches.

The whole of childhood is devoted to study, study of
material knowledge; and as soon as the child has grown into
a youth, the burden of life is put on its shoulders, a burden
that is becoming heavier and heavier for rich and poor.
The result of this is that there is strife between the political
parties. There is disagreement between labor and capital;
and this life full of struggle to which the child opens
its eyes never leaves it time to be one with nature, to
dive deep within itself, or to think beyond this life in
the crowd.

When we consider the problem of nations we become still
more perplexed. The enmity, hatred, and prejudice which
exist between one nation and another, and the antagonism
and utter selfishness which are the central theme of the
relationships and ties between nations, show that the world
is going from bad to worse, and unrest seems to be all-pervading.
There seems to be no trust between nations, no sympathy,
except for their own interest. And what is the outcome of
it? Its impression falls as a reflection, as a shadow upon
individuals, turning them also towards egoism and selfishness.

Religion was meant to be the safest, the only refuge
in the world; but at the present moment, with ever-growing
materialism and overwhelming commercialism, religion seems
to be fading away. A silent indifference toward religion
seems to be increasing, especially in the countries foremost
in civilization; and that being so, where can man find the
solution of the problem of the day?

We can consider this question from a philosophical point
of view. What is construction and what is reconstruction?
A construction is that which is already made. A newborn
child is a construction. But after a disorder in the body
or in the mind, there comes a need of a reconstruction.
In English there is an expression: to pull oneself together.
The world needs reconstruction today, the world has to pull
itself together. Education, the political, social, and financial
condition, religion, all these things which make civilization,
seem to have been scattered; and in order that they may
come together again, the secret of life must be studied.
What is the secret of healing power? It is making oneself
strong enough to pull oneself together; and that is the
secret of the life of the mystic. The world has lost its
health, and if one pictures the world as an individual,
one can see what it means to lose one's health. It is just
like illness in the life of an individual; and as for every
illness there is a remedy, so for every disaster there is
a reconstruction.

But people have different ideas. There is a pessimist
who says, 'If the world has got to this state of destruction
who can help it, how can it be helped?' This is like a person
who says, 'Well, I have been so ill, I have suffered so
much, I do not care. How can I be well now? It is too late.'
In this way he holds on to his disease and cherishes it,
though he does not like it. And then there is the curious
person, who is very anxious to look at the newspaper and
see whether his investments have gone up or whether they
have gone down, and to see whether there is the probability
of war; and he will excite his friends about it. Then there
is another person who says, 'Committees must be formed,
there must be societies and leagues; congresses must be
held, and many more meetings, many more discussions.' There
seems to be no end to the discussions and disputes in order
to find out the ways and means of how to improve conditions!

I do not mean to say that any effort, in whatever form,
towards the reconstruction or towards the betterment of
conditions is not worthwhile. But what is most needed is
for us to understand that religion of religions and that
philosophy of philosophies, which is self-knowledge. We
shall never understand the outer life if we do not understand
ourselves. It is knowledge of the self that gives knowledge
of the world. The politician, the statesman, however qualified,
will dispute about things for years and years, but he will
never come to a satisfactory conclusion unless he understands
the psychology of life and of the situation. And so the
educator will try new schemes, but he will never come to
a satisfactory conclusion unless he has a psychological
knowledge of life, the knowledge which will teach him the
psychology of human nature. But I do not mean by psychology
what is generally understood by this word; I mean the understanding
of the self, the understanding of the nature and character
of the mind and of the body.

What is health? Health is order. And what is order? Order
is music. Where there is rhythm, regularity and cooperation,
there is harmony, there is sympathy. Health of mind and
health of the body depend therefore upon the preserving
of that harmony, upon keeping intact that sympathy which
exists in the mind and body. Life in the world, and especially
as we live it amidst the crowd, will test and try our patience
every moment of the day, and it will be most difficult to
preserve that harmony and peace which is all happiness.
For what is the definition of life? Life means struggle
with friends and battle with foes. It is continual giving
and taking.

And where are we to learn this? All education and learning
and knowledge is acquired, but this one art is a divine
art, and man has inherited it. Because he is absorbed in
the outer learning he has forgotten it, but it is an art
which is known to the soul; it is his own being; it is the
deepest knowledge that he has in his heart. No progress
in any line that man can make will give him the satisfaction
which his soul is craving for, except the one which is the
art of life, the art of being, the pursuit of his soul.

In order to further the reconstruction of the world the
only thing possible and the only thing necessary, before
trying to serve humanity, is to learn the art of being,
the art of life, for oneself and in order to be an example
for others.